Christmas - 4/15 - The Idea Room

Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

*December 13, 2012 Update: I have had many of you wanting the labels to download…Great News! They are now available and you can get them by clicking on this link:

Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Scrub Labels

You will notice that you have to Like my Face Book page to get it. This is now where I will be placing all my free downloads so that they are free and accessible to my fans. I LOVE to share with my fans but am getting tired of some people sharing my stuff all over the internet or on their own sites, without linking back or mentioning the true source of my content.

As always I really appreciate the loyalty of my fans! Hope you can use these! And I always love seeing your finished items if you get a sec to send me a note or an email!

Guess what? I have another version of some sugar scrubs for you today. I LOVE these! And they make the perfect homemade gift. Last week I shared with you a Thanksgiving version…Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub Recipe. This time I wanted something that was Christmas in a Jar! So what could be better than a Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Scrub.

Sugar Scrubs are a great way to add some moisture and soften up winter-dry skin. And who doesn’t need that this time of year. It is also a great way to relax during this crazy busy season.

I simply took two cups of white granulated Sugar and mixed in a 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup Almond Oil (Coconut Oil will work too). Add the oil slowly till you have a nice soft consistency that is soft but not too oily. Then add a few drops of Peppermint Essential Oil.

Once you have it all mixed together you will want to divide the scrub into two equal parts and in separate containers. You will need to add some color to one of the containers. You can use a little bit of food coloring OR you can add some raspberry juice like I did. I simply took a couple of drops of juice from a bag of frozen raspberries…the perfect organic red colorant.

Make a large funnel out of a piece of paper (a small one will not allow enough room for the sugar scrub to pass through it) and add a small amount into the jar. Press the sugar down lightly so that the sugar is even.

Then add a white layer so that they are about the same height and flatten it. Continue back and forth with as many layers and as thick or thin a layer you would like. So pretty right?

Print out a pretty label and add some fun scrapbook paper or bow and you have the perfect hostess or Holiday gift!

First time here? Check out some of our past Sugar Scrub Recipes:

Lemon Sugar Scrub

Peppermint Foot Scrub

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub

Brown Sugar Scrub

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November 13, 2012 · Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Gifts Tagged with

Candy cane swirl cake

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This is a story about a Candy Cane Swirl Cake that tasted better than it looked…

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{Don’t let the picture fool you…that is some creative photography…}

I don’t really share my craft/cooking fails with you guys and I don’t want you to think that I never have any…cause believe me…I do. Not everything turns out like I had imagined it in my head. Can anyone relate? I wanted to share this delicious cake we made over the Christmas holidays but it was just not pretty enough to make the cut. Even though it tasted really great.

{See? I told you!}

I originally saw the Candy Cane Swirl Cake at Betty Crocker. But instead of using a box cake, I decided to make my favorite white cake recipe from scratch.

White Cake Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour pans lightly. I used three 8 inch round pans.
Cream together butter & vanilla extract.
Add sugar slowly until all is added and it is mixed well.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt together twice.
Now add flour mixture, alternating between the milk and flour. Mixing well after each again.

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1/2 teaspoon red food color (see Directions #1 below)

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (see Directions #1 below)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Generously grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube cake pan. Make cake batter as directed above. Pour about 2 cups batter into pan. In small bowl, pour about 3/4 cup batter; stir in food color and peppermint extract. Carefully pour pink batter over white batter in pan. Carefully pour remaining white batter over pink batter.

2. Bake cake at 350°F and cool completely.

3. In small bowl, mix white icing ingredients. If necessary, stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until smooth and spreadable. Spread over cake. Sprinkle crushed candy on top. Store loosely covered.

White Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk or water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla, if desired

I am not quite sure why my cake fell apart. Maybe the box cake would have been better to use in the bundt pan. But it sure did taste good. And there were several salvageable pieces of cake that I was able to serve up that looked halfway decent. Hehe. And with some creative photography I was almost able to make it look…well…somewhat presentable.

I have decided to share more of these creativity failures with you as part of trying to keep it real. What do you think? Are you looking forward to seeing some of my creative catastrophes??

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February 22, 2012 · Filed under: Christmas, Christmas Gifts, Christmas Recipes, Christmas Traditions, Recipes Tagged with candy cane cake, candy cane swirl cake, candy cane treats, christmas cake, christmas recipes, christmas treats, crushed candy cane recipes, peppermint cake, red and white cakes

Christmas & New years 2011

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We had a really fun and relaxing Christmas vacation for the most part this year. I thought it would be fun to share a few photos of what we did over the Christmas and New Years break.

On Christmas Morning, we got up early to get ready for 9:00 am church. We told the kids they had to wait to open presents and see what Santa brought them after church. So we hung up a big blanket over the entry way into the room with the Christmas tree and presents.

I actually really like having Christmas on Sunday. Our meeting was really nice and it was a great way to focus on the real meaning of Christmas. But the kids were itching to get to the fun part of Christmas. So as soon as we got home the kids changed out of their church clothes and got back into their pajamas…haha! (the picture of the kids hugging by the Christmas tree was actually the day after Christmas since I forgot to get pictures on Christmas Day…so that would explain the bed heads…)

During our Christmas break we were able to go Ice Skating with some cousins and Grandma! I learned that I am not as good at Ice Skating as I used to be…which was never that great to begin with. I was happy to “help” the little kids as holding their hand helped me feel a bit steadier on the ice.

We also spent a lot of lazy days lounging around the house eating goodies and playing games. But some of the time we spent working on some projects like painting my new office…can’t wait to share that soon…and a few other painting projects.

Then for New Years…we went and stayed up in Park City, Utah for the weekend. It has become a family tradition and we always look forward to it. We were able to stay with some cousins and Grandma again. We played games and then I went shopping with the ladies while the men took the kids to see a movie.

Then, even though it was only 20 degrees outside…we sat in the hot tub with all the kids! Good thing the water was hot! Later that night we bundled up and rode the Cabriolet at the Canyons Ski Resort up to the Lodge to see some fireworks. They were supposed to start at 8:00 pm…but at 7:45 as we were about to get on the Cabriolet…the fireworks started! We got to watch them the whole way up. We had the best seats in the house!!! It was a lot of fun!

Then we came back to the condo and warmed up playing games and watching movies till 2012.

I can’t believe another year has come and gone. Time is flying by!

I have a few New Year’s Goals this year that I will be sharing at a later time with you. Hope you all had a happy and safe holiday! Can’t wait for another full year of fun and projects. Heavens knows I have already a lot of them on the to do list!

What was the most favorite thing you did to celebrate?

I think mine was the weekend in Park City this year!

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January 3, 2012 · Filed under: Christmas, Personal Tagged with Christmas, Family